This invention pertains to musical instruments. It is particularly directed to end blown wind instruments patterned after the Didjeridoo of the Australian Bushman. It provides an end blown, compact, Didjeridoo-type wind instrument of increased versatility.
The Didjeridoo musical instrument has been in use by the Australian Bushman for more than 40,000 years. It consists of a relatively long hollow tube, typically at least four feet in length. In its original form, it was fashioned from a eucalyptus tree branch which had been hollowed out by termites. The internal chamber was characteristically irregular in shape and dimension, with a nominal diameter of up to several inches. The narrowest end of the hollow tube has customarily been modified to interface comfortably with a human mouth. This modification has typically involved applying a workable substance, such as beeswax, to a terminus of the tube, and modeling it into a mouthpiece. A conventional such mouthpiece comprises an approximately axial opening about one to one-and-a-half inches in diameter. In operation, a percussive drone output sound is produced by placing the mouth against the mouthpiece, and blowing through relaxed lips to produce a soft sputtering input sound (as opposed to the buzzing input associated with the playing of brass instruments.)
In recent years, Didjeridoo instruments have been produced in various countries of the world from a variety of materials, including native woods, plastics, fabrics, leathers and clays, among others. Each instrument produces unique characteristic sounds because of their respective unique specific shapes, densities, surface textures and other physical properties. Instruments of various lengths produce drones of various pitch, but a tube length of several feet is essential to produce drone fundamental and overtone pitches. There has evolved an enthusiasm for Didjeridoo playing at both the amateur and professional levels for a variety of reasons. Transport of the instruments is difficult because of their size and sometimes fragile nature. Because of the straight configuration of the vibrating air column, it has not been practical to utilize tone holes to vary the pitch of the instrument. Holes located within reach of the instrumentalist are at the input end of the column, and therefore produce very elevated pitches. Such elevated tones have limited utility.
Another ancient instrument, produced in the 16th century, the xe2x80x9cRackett,xe2x80x9d incorporated a tortuous passageway within a canister. Sound was produced by blowing through a double reed, fashioned much as a modern bassoon reed. The internal air passage was much longer than the canister length, thereby producing a tone of lower pitch than could otherwise be obtained from an instrument of comparable size. Pitch changes were effected by an elaborate pattern of fingering holes in communication with the air passage. By contrast, only minor pitch changes are possible with traditional Didjeridoos, and any such changes are effected through changes in lip tension.
A Didjeridoo-type instrument is simulated by means of a tortuous path chamber pattern constructed within a shell or housing which forms a body. The manner of playing the instrument to produce a fundamental drone sound is substantially identical to that of a traditional Didjeridoo. Moreover, the techniques which have been developed to produce interesting sonic textures, patterns, overtones and similar effects of a traditional instrument are equally applicable and effective when applied to the invention. For example, circular breathing techniques are fundamental to proper operation of both categories of instrument. The invention offers several striking advantages; including compact, easily transportable configurations and increased versatility of sound production. A notable characteristic of certain instruments constructed in accordance with this invention is the ability to produce drone sounds at both fundamental and overtone pitch levels. It is also feasible to locate tone holes within reach of the instrumentalist, thereby making it feasible to modify the effective length of the vibrating air column at its exit port and play additional fundamental notes from one instrument.
The present invention provides a musical instrument capable of reproducing the sound spectrum typically associated with an Australian Didjeridoo. Such instruments are constructed and arranged to provide a tortuous path air chamber with a first mouth piece at a first end configured to permit an instrumentalist to blow through the mouthpiece in a loose-lipped fashion, whereby to create a Didjeridoo-type drone. The tortuous path through the instrument body is constructed to have a minimum total length longer than the length of the instrument body. A suitable air column may be formed by a plurality of baffle walls and baffle blocks arranged to form a plurality of air column segments. The segments may be characterized as xe2x80x9cfoldedxe2x80x9d linear sections, or serpentine segments. In certain preferred embodiments, the tortuous path has a total length at least one-and-a-half times as long as the length of the instrument to provide a compact instrument. The mouthpiece typically has a passageway opening, in communication with the air chamber, sized between about one to about one-and-one-half inches in diameter. Certain exemplary instruments have a body with one or more tone holes positioned to establish or change the fundamental note of the instrument when opened or closed. Other instruments may have one or more through-holes in fluid communication with the air column and sealingly covered by a membrane, such that the membrane may function to produce an audible sound while playing the instrument. A friction surface operable to create a percussive sound when stroked with a stylus may also be provided at one or more locations on a body. Some instruments may have a second mouthpiece at a second end, whereby to permit playing the instrument from either of the ends. One advantage of such an arrangement is that the fundamental note may have a different pitch when played from each respective end. The sound producing features disclosed herein may be incorporated in any combination to form an instrument capable of producing the desired instrumental sound.